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I hear voices when falling asleep

I wonder if someone here can tell me what this phenomena is, whether it's spirits I hear or what is going on.

It started about a year or bit more ago. At first it was just noises. When I would start falling asleep I would sometimes hear a loud clap or a 'krrr' sound, or a loud bang, or something like that. Physically it felt that these sounds were happening in my brain, and they felt pleasant, they relaxed me, as if tensions were being released. Sleep would come right after.

Lately, these noises have become voices. And although they don't feel unpleasant, I feel a bit spooked. They don't talk, I just hear a voice saying "ooooh' or 'aaah' or 'boooh' or 'wow' or something like that. Sometimes they seem to be outside of me (as opposed to the noises previously that happened inside my brain). For example, a voice right next to my ear saying 'Ooooh'. Last night, a voice said 'Wow!' and I distinctly felt the sound in my throat, although my lips were not moving. I did not feel that I said 'wow', I felt someone else did. It was very weird.

Now, I can relax with all of this if I know that it's nothing to worry about. Does anyone here have experience with this kind of phenomena or knows where I can read up on it? I guess I'm worried that these are mischievous spirits trying to scare me.

Most likely it is just your brain entering the theta state, which it does as you're falling asleep. The brain will often start dreaming a bit before you actually fall asleep (or at least it does in some people, myself included), and sometimes that includes hearing things. You mentioned feeling the sound of saying "Wow" in your throat at the same time that your heard someone say "Wow" -- that pretty clearly indicates to me that it was you saying it (your lips didn't have to have been moving, your mouth didn't even need to be open -- your throat made the sound, and your brain filled in the blank since it was aware that you were trying to say "wow").

I suppose it could be ghosts or spirits or something, but even assuming those things exist, they are less likely than the more prosaic explanation I mentioned above. Occam's Razor applies here.

For the sake of argument, though, lets assume for the moment that you are hearing ghosts or spirits or the like. In that case, why think that they would be mischievous spirits which are trying to scare you? I guess they could be, but I wouldn't assume that they are. They could very well just be dead people that you knew in life, or maybe just curious ghosts dropping by to say hello.

Finally, while this is quite unlikely, it is possible that it could be schizophrenia. However, if that's the case, you should also have other symptoms, such as hearing voices during the day when you are nowhere near sleep, and you would quite possibly also have visual hallucinations (again, whilst wide awake). It's also unlikely to be schizophrenia if you are past your late teens / early twenties, as that is the timeframe in which schizophrenia most commonly first expresses itself. So, I mention it only as an outside possibility; if you are having hallucinations while wide awake then you may want to consider seeking mental help, but otherwise I very much doubt that's what is going on (I mention it only because I would be remiss not to do so, just on the outside chance that it may be what's going on).

For the sake of argument, though, lets assume for the moment that you are hearing ghosts or spirits or the like. In that case, why think that they would be mischievous spirits which are trying to scare you? I guess they could be, but I wouldn't assume that they are. They could very well just be dead people that you knew in life, or maybe just curious ghosts dropping by to say hello.

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Well my feeling is that if these voices are friendly spirits they wouldn't startle me like that. I don't recognize any of the voices so I don't think they are deceased people I knew previously.

Another reason could be that I was/am a bit shaken by three nightmares I had over the past year. All involved someone I was not able to see who grabbed me from behind and flung me around, dragging me up or down stairs, etc, and I was completely helpless and terrified. So I may be connecting those nightmares with the other odd events happening when I fall asleep and look at them all with a wary eye.

Finally, while this is quite unlikely, it is possible that it could be schizophrenia. However, if that's the case, you should also have other symptoms, such as hearing voices during the day when you are nowhere near sleep, and you would quite possibly also have visual hallucinations (again, whilst wide awake). It's also unlikely to be schizophrenia if you are past your late teens / early twenties, as that is the timeframe in which schizophrenia most commonly first expresses itself. So, I mention it only as an outside possibility; if you are having hallucinations while wide awake then you may want to consider seeking mental help, but otherwise I very much doubt that's what is going on (I mention it only because I would be remiss not to do so, just on the outside chance that it may be what's going on).

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Yes the possibility of schizophrenia also crossed my mind but I don't have any kind of hallucinations when awake, and I'm also way past the age when this disorder usually emerges. So I think I can dismiss that.

(On a side note, I have long been wondering whether some schizophrenics might in fact not be mentally ill at all but are hearing spirit voices, and simply don't know what to make of it. Something to ponder ...)

.............Yes the possibility of schizophrenia also crossed my mind but I don't have any kind of hallucinations when awake, and I'm also way past the age when this disorder usually emerges. So I think I can dismiss that.

(On a side note, I have long been wondering whether some schizophrenics might in fact not be mentally ill at all but are hearing spirit voices, and simply don't know what to make of it. Something to ponder ...)

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Re your last comment, some time ago I was in a small filling station cum campground in Pueblo, CO, when I got chatting to a female tribesperson who was living/camping in her station wagon in the gas station's parking lot courtesy of a friendly employee. She explained why she was living as she did and how she'd lost her kids because the medical folk wanted to give her drugs to treat what they said was schizophrenia - bipolar as it's now called - but she didn't want to be drugged.

I talked with her quite some time and probed what she'd been hearing and seeing. I concluded she was as likely to be hearing her ancestors as she was imaginary voices and encouraged her that night to ask the presences who drew close to her to give her some space and some peace. If she could do that and get some settled sleep I felt she'd feel more in control of the situation than she had in years.

I also encouraged her to return home but not to reject the offer of help outright but to explain that she wanted to try living at home without taking so many of the strong Rx drugs that left her feeling drugged and dopey. Her demeanor calmed and she began to smile at the prospect of breaking the hold the voices and presences had on her. She had had no-one before to offer a possible explanation. I asked if her tribe had 'medicine men' and encouraged her to visit the reservation and ask them about what I'd told her.

I was then much more spiritually aware and 'tuned in' and have always hoped she would find her way out of the muddle she was in. I wrote her a letter but she didn't write back. We were on the road then and soon were hundreds of miles away. We didn't meet again.

One of the odd occasions when I thought I might have been prompted by unseen friends and helpers - mine or hers - into doing what I did. Odd because if I hadn't had to get repairs to our RV in such an out-of-the-way place, a Brit RVer who just happened to be deeply into a lot of spiritual stuff at that time, I wonder if any others would have been able to do something similar. One of several odd occurrences that particular trip.

Hi mac, thanks for sharing that. So you also think it's possible schizophrenia might actually be someone hearing spirits. How utterly confusing that must be if you have no context for what you are experiencing, and no validation from anyone around you

"It's sometimes tricky to tell whether someone you care about has bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. They're both mental illnesses that affect how people think and act, and some of the symptoms look a lot alike. But there are big differences, too.

When you have bipolar disorder, you have huge swings in mood and energy that can make it hard to do everyday activities. With schizophrenia, mood problems aren't so central, but your senses can play tricks on you, making it hard sometimes to know what's real and what's not. It can be difficult to think clearly and relate to people."

I didn't know that. I thought the term 'bipolar' had replaced schizophrenia.

"It's sometimes tricky to tell whether someone you care about has bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. They're both mental illnesses that affect how people think and act, and some of the symptoms look a lot alike. But there are big differences, too.

When you have bipolar disorder, you have huge swings in mood and energy that can make it hard to do everyday activities. With schizophrenia, mood problems aren't so central, but your senses can play tricks on you, making it hard sometimes to know what's real and what's not. It can be difficult to think clearly and relate to people."

I didn't know that. I thought the term 'bipolar' had replaced schizophrenia.

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Hi Mac!

Bipolar replaced the term manic depressive. I was diagnosed as bipolar myself, but it's kept under control in my case through medications.

Amore, I do not know how old you are, but schizophrenia is something I would not worry about at this point. Most often, with schizophrenia, the messages and the voices are not friendly.
Think back and see if anything that might be significant happened to you, such as unusually high stress, a traumatic experience, a new medication? For over 60% of those who have auditory hallucinations (as you seem to be experiencing), there is an antecedent.
When considering an organic cause, one might consider other mental disorders such as dissociative identity disorders, severe depression with psychotic features, but also bipolar disorders.
Chances are that what you are experiencing is a case of hypnogogic hallucinations brought on by your own brain activity as it prepares to fall into a sleep state or awakening from it.
If these experiences bother you, I would suggest consulting with a medical practitioner (GP) as well as a psychiatrist.

Thank you ravensgate!
Yes I have had a lot of stress the past two years, especially emotional stress, but also financial problems and health issues. I experienced a lot of negative emotions, fear, sadness, anger etc. Like I said above I had three or four nightmares too. So that could certainly factor in.
But over the same time period I also felt that my psychic abilities became stronger, for example I knew both when my uncle had died as well as when Leonard Cohen died before hearing it from someone. My deceased father also visited me during sleep (in a dream) as well as when awake. So I was wondering whether I had generally opened up to the spirit world more and in turn am also more open for disincarnate voices to get through to me.
The voices don't bother me much as they don't happen often and don't feel unfriendly, just a bit too much sometimes (such as when they actually startle me because they are loud and sudden). But I do take notice and want to know why this happens because I have never experienced something like this before.
Because you and bluebird think they are likely natural occurrences of my brain falling asleep I think I will just relax and watch it a bit more and see if they become more frequent or change in any way, or maybe stop again.